The government has announced a new Joint Authorities Cash Strategy (JACS) Group to “safeguard the future of cash and ensure its availability for years to come”, according to chancellor Philip Hammond.

It also stated a commitment to act on the Access to Cash Review, which makes clear that “significant, expeditious action” is needed from government, regulators and industry to ensure that cash access and acceptance is maintained in the UK.

Following the Treasury Committee’s evidence session with members of the Access to Cash Review panel in March, chairperson Nicky Morgan asked the chancellor to commit to implement the review’s recommendations, introduce necessary legislation and make cash policy an explicit responsibility of the relevant Treasury minister.

Morgan commented: “As we’ve seen this week, free-to-use cash machines are disappearing at an alarming rate, which could hit the most vulnerable in our society the hardest.

“On top of this, some firms’ insistence on the use of non-cash forms of payment may act as a social barrier,” she continued. “The new JACS Group is a welcome step, but the government must ensure that it implements the Access to Cash Review’s recommendations urgently, and in full, to protect access to cash.

Morgan added that the Treasury Committee’s upcoming report on Consumers’ Access to Financial Services, scheduled to be published later this month, will address many of the issues raised by the review and the government.

In recent evidence to the committee, Charles Randell, chair of the Payment Systems Regulator, said that the whole system of access to cash needs to be looked at afresh.

The JACS group is designed to provide "comprehensive oversight of the overall cash infrastructure, including steps to make this infrastructure more resilient and efficient, and consider how best to ensure access to cash for those who need it".

The government also confirmed that earlier plans to scrap 1p and 2p coins have been abandoned.

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